Articles in the December 2011 Category

This issue of Teacher Plus, in collaboration with Wipro’s Earthian initiative, brings a wide range of articles that looks at various aspects of sustainability. Sustainability has to become a part of the fabric of daily life, embedded in the decisions we make everyday about using water, power, food and land. It has to become a part of our thinking, learning and doing.

Wipro Earthian Team
Wipro’s Earthian initiative on Sustainability launched earlier this year was the outcome of a realisation that the issue required greater attention in schools and colleges. Solutions to these issues can be arrived at only if there is a change in mindsets and approaches and who better to lead this change, than those in schools and colleges.

Does sustainability exist at all in the present society? Growth, as we have known it, does not seem to be possible. Every living system on the planet is in a state of decline and the rate of decline is accelerating. What part is education playing in at least trying to bring about a transformation in the mindsets of students? Clive Elwell tries to answer these difficult questions.

The energy sector is the single biggest contributor to climate change accounting for 60 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. By thinking aloud, the authors begin by trying to understand energy, put renewable energy in context and move on to understanding its different aspects. There are also some interesting ideas for action for each and every one of us. Try them out.

Climate change is a peculiar problem. Everyone is affected by it and everyone contributes to it. In order to engage with climate change, there has to be genuine global cooperation. A major responsibility for mitigation lies with developed
countries, as also the need to help developing countries to adapt or ‘climate-proof’ themselves to a small degree.

For a country like India to prosper, decentralisation is the mantra. Decentralised energy, solutions, enterprises and eco-systems are the need of the hour and for this we need social entrepreneurs. These are the fundamentals for creating a strong nation.

In the coming decades, the survival of humanity will depend on our ecological literacy – our ability to understand the basic principles of ecology and to live accordingly. This means that ecoliteracy must become a critical skill for
politicians, business leaders, and professionals in all spheres, and should be the most important part of education at all levels – from primary and secondary schools to colleges, universities, and the continuing education and training
of professionals.